BBL 2017/18: Top 5 performers of Big Bash League season 7

After an intriguing six and a half weeks, more than 40 matches and truckloads of boundaries, the Big Bash League season 7 (BBL 07) is finally over with the Adelaide Strikers clinching their maiden BBL title in an emphatic manner.

There were some extraordinary individual and collective performances right from the very beginning to the very end of this BBL season, often changing the course of a game and leading to nail-biting final over finishes.

Here, we take a look at top 5 performers of Big Bash League season 7 (BBL 07):

1. D’Arcy Short – 572 runs

It is fair to say that D’Arcy Short has been the find of BBL 07, as was also affirmed by Cricket Australia as they named him the BBL’s player of the tournament. The young left-handed opener also earned his first call-up into the Australian T20 side on the back of his consistent performances in the BBL, especially season 7.

Short has led the BBL 07’s batting charts and the powerful left-hander’s tournament also featured a record-breaking 122 not out from 69 balls against Brisbane Heat — the highest-ever BBL score.

2. Alex Carey – 443 runs

Wicket-keeper batsman Alex Carey is another player who has made his way into the Australian ODI and T20 sides due to his sensational performances for the Adelaide Strikers in BBL 07. Carey has recorded 443 runs at a strike rate of 141.53, making him the second highest run-getter in the season. With 13 catches in 11 games, Carey is also the man with the most number of dismissals behind the wickets in BBL season 7.

Any other year and Carey would have been the story of the season, with his 443 runs second only to D’Arcy Short’s 573 for the most in a BBL campaign. Nevertheless, the Strikers keeper did his burgeoning reputation behind the stumps no harm and played one of the season’s most destructive innings against Hobart, hammering 100 off 56 balls.

3. Jake Weatherald – 383 runs

Adelaide Strikers’ opener Jake Weatherald etched his name in history books with a superb century in the big final against the Hobart Hurricanes, which was ultimately the difference between the two sides and led the Strikers to their maiden BBL title this year in season 7. With 383 runs in the tournament, Weatherald also finished third in the list of top run-getters in the season.

After a lukewarm start to the BBL 07 season, Weatherald chose the perfect time to strike form and recorded three back-to-back half-centuries in the Strikers’ last three games, including a match-winning century in the final.

4. Rashid Khan – 17 wickets

If D’Arcy Short stole all the limelight with the bat in BBL 07, it was Afghan sensation Rashid Khan who did the same with the ball. Bowler of the tournament, the season’s best import and possibly BBL 07’s finest performer; Rashid Khan, with his breathtaking leg-spin bowling was equal parts unplayable and unhittable, topping the wicket-taking charts and finishing with the best economy of anyone who bowled more than a single over.

Rashid picked up 18 wickets at an unreal economy rate of 5.65 and was by far the best bowler on show in the tournament.

5. Andrew Tye – 16 wickets

Dwayne Bravo picked up more wickets and scored more runs than him but after Rashid Khan, Andrew Tye was the most effective bowler in BBL 07 and picked up 16 wickets despite only playing in 6 games for the Perth Scorchers before being whizzed away by the Australian selectors for national duty against England.

The highlight of Tye’s season was of course his hat-trick against the Sydney Sixers. Using the knuckle ball, Tye troubled almost every batsman that he came up against and was also one of the only two bowlers to have picked up a five-wicket haul in Big Bash League (BBL) season 7.